Life ring



1962 J. H. LE BLANC, JR 3,050,754

LIFE RING Filed April 5, 1960 INVENTOR. JosePH H. LEBLAM JE. BY ysZ/L, v

ATT C) 2N EYS United States Patent 3,050,754 LIFE RING Joseph H. Le Blane, Jr., New Orleans, 1.2., assignor to The American Pad & Textile Co., Greenfield, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Filed Apr. 5, 1960, Ser. No. 20,171 4 Claims. (Cl. 9-340) This invention relates to a floating life ring, and is particularly concerned with the structure of the assembly of a floating body and a grab rope attached thereto.

Life rings are known structures, in which a floating annunlar member of cork, balsa wood or other material of low unit weight per volume, possibly with a canvas or other protective and integrating covering, has had a grab rope attached thereto. Gas-expanded plastics, being so- -called plastic foams, have been so employedtwith the grab rope cured or rigged by pieces of canvas Webbing which pass from inside to outside around the toroid section, or by metal bolts having eyes at the outside and embedded nuts at the inside of the rtoroid section.

The employment of webbing pieces requires extra material, and extra labor for applying them. The projecting bolts provide a hazard to a person who swims toward the ring.

Canvas, and the usual metals such as bronzes, brasses and plated materials, are subject to deteriorate during service and pmticularly while the life ring is kept ready for instant use: and this deterioration is promoted by sun and sea water.

- According to the instant invention, the flotation ring and the rope can be assembled without additional parts, and therewith the individual grab loops of the rope are prevented from lengthening or shortening, so that these loops are always ready for seizure.

An illustrative practice of the invention is shown on the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a face elevation of the life ring;

FIGURE 1:; is a fragmentary view of an alternative securing arrangement;

FiGURE 2 is an edge elevation of the life ring;

FIGURE 3 is a section, on an enlarged scale, of a part of the assembly, substantially on line 33 of FIG- URE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a top plan of part of the lower section of a mold for forming the floating annulus;

FIGURE 5 is a section substantially on line 55 of FIGURE 4, of the upper and lower mold sections.

In the drawings, a floating body it} of generally annular shape can be molded of stiidy resilient plastic foam material which has sufficient rigidity of structure to resist deformation by blows or by pulls upon the grab rope. Such bodies and materials are of themselves known, and are not claimed generally herein.

According to this invention, holes 11, FIG. 3, are provided from the inner to the outer periphery of the body it These holes 11 are preferably arranged in pairs, FIGURE 3, extending chordally relative to the general axis of the ring, so that the holes are spaced farther apart at the inner periphery than at the outer periphery, and can be spaced at the outer periphery at an appropriate distance for the forming of a square knot overlying them.

A rope, e.g., of manila, polyethylene or nylon fibers, is threaded through the holes of a pair, with the bight 12 extending between the holes at the inner periphery, and with the legs 13 located in the holes. A square knot 14 is then formed in the rope at the outer periphery of the body. The rope runs 15, 16 projecting from the knot 14 are then led to the adjacent pairs of holes, and each run is passed through a pair of holes, and square knots 14 formed, in like fashion: with looseness so that 3,050,754 Patented Aug. 28, 1962 "ice the run is free of the outer periphery of the body 10. Preferably, the rope has stifiness so that the runs extend in the general median plane M, FIGURE 2, ready for grasping, as loops formed in the individual runs 15, 16 and 17. The rope ends 13 and 19, from their respective square knots 14 are then connected, preferably by forming a splice 2% between the ends, e.g. a three-tuck splice, and then heating a plastic rope to seal the strands against slipping or unravelling. Alternatively, a square knot 2011, FIG. 1a, can be formed between the a parts. The ends of the rope can be held in a threading tool during the reeving to prevent unravelling: and a plastic solution can be applied .to the splice or ends of a manila rope, and then dried, for sealing the strands.

in the illustrative form, the knots .14 are located within the outer periphery of the body it by providing notches 25 at such periphery: and correspondingly a groove 26, FIGURE 3, is providedat the inner periphery for each pair of holes, so that the bignts 1?. lie outward of the inner periphery of the body 10. The holes 1-1 are more widely spaced at the groove 26 than at the notch 25, for each pair, and the root of the groove 26 is curved to merge smoothly with the holes 11, so that the bight 12 of the rope bears against a large area and does not exert a tearing effect upon the plastic foam portion 27 between the holes 11, noting that pulls upon the rope loops 15, 16, :17, 18l are always outward from the general axis of the body: and that yielding of the loops, in length, is prevented by the square knots 14- and by the gripping of the legs 13 and bight 12 upon the plastic sponge.

The illustrated structure is composed of the molded body of plastic foam and the rope. These materials are known to have long endurance to deterioration by sun, water and biological agents. This is particularly true of the plastic foam: and it is notable that upon decay of the rope, this may be replaced without need of special tools or of auxiliary parts.

Such annular bodies may be made by expanding a plastic material, including a distending agent, in a mold. This general procedure is known, by which a formmaintaining, water-excluding foam having resiliency and a low Weight per unit of volume, is made. The specific shape for present purposes may be made by employing a two-part mold, comprised of the lower section 30 and the upper section 31, which has a toroidal space 32 between the sections. Such mold sections can have abutting flanges 33 which are held engaged, during the distension and curing of the plastic foam, as conventionalized by the C-clamps 34. Locating pins 35, each extending from one flange through a hole in the other, can be used to hold the molds in proper relation. The holes, notches, and grooves of FIGURE 3 can be provided, with such a mold, by providing the removable boss 37 and a pair of substantially L-shaped removable pieces 38 at each reeving position; these pieces having the legs 39 closely engaged in holes in the boss 37 at the outer periphery of the mold cavity, and the groove-forming portions 40 at the inner periphery of the mold cavity. Notches 41 are formed in the inner mold flanges 33 for receiving parts of the portions 40, and notches 42 at the outer mold flanges 33 for receiving parts 37a of the bosses 37; for closely receiving and locating the respective parts. The legs 39 preferably have a taper for draft in withdrawing them from the molded foambody: and the portions 40 are curved from the legs toward the abutment of the pair of pieces. In manufacture, the proper quantity of plastic,

38 pulled by movement toward the general axis of the body, e .g., by engaging a hook successively in the holes 44; that is, they are removed at the inner periphery of the body 10. The hook can likewise be engaged in the holes 45 of the bosses 37 forpulling these bosses outward. The body is thenready for reeving and tying of the rope.

The illustrative form is of a flotation body of circular toroid shape: but other shapes may be employed.

The illustrative practice is not restrictive, and the invention may be practiced in many ways within the scope of the appended claims. 7

What is claimed is:

1. A life ring having a flotation body consisting of stiflly resistant plastic foam in the shape of an annulus with an open center, and having holes extending chordally relative to the general aXis and from the inner to the outer periphery of the annulus substantially in the median plane of the body, said holes being present in pairs at peripherally spaced regions of the 'body With the holes of the pair spaced farther apart at the inner periphery than at the outer periphery, and a rope extending through the holes and passing aroundthe plastic foam material located between the holes, with a knot at the outer ends ery has notches for receiving the said knots.

respective pair of holes, the rope having between the knots at successive pairs of holes a run of greater length than the peripheral are along the body between such knots.

2. A life ring as in claim 1, in which the outer periph- 3. A life ring as in claim 1, in which the holes of a pair are connected at the inner periphery of the body by a groove for receiving the bight of rope'between said legs thereof.

4. A life ring as in claim 3, in which the root of the groove merges at its ends with the walls of the holes.

References Gited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 715,261 Hamilton Dec. 9, 1902 913,617 Busch Feb.'23, 1909 1,205,514 Carroll Nov. 21,1916 1,591,074 Adams July 6, 1926 2,302,094 Bacon Nov; 17, 1942 2,421,058 Eckstein May 27, 1947 2,784,464 =Larsva1l Mar. 12, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS 114,169 Great Britain .2 Mar. 28, 1918 153,922 Sweden Mar. 27, 1956 

